Big Bear Today Magazine June 2020

Big Bear Today June 2020—Page 9
Wilbur’s Pond, grave HV sites
Everyone hates the tax man, but over
a century ago Charles Wilbur was popular
enough in Holcomb Valley to be given a
proper burial.
Today his grave and stunning nearby
pond named after him aren’t official stops
along the popular Gold Fever Trail. Yet
both can be visited along the way or as
stand-alone destinations in their own right,
accessed by dirt roads that aren’t as challenging
as the Gold Fever Trail drive.
Wilbur was the first tax assessor in San
Bernardino County and was also a miner
Gold Fever Trail...
Continued from page 8
gings just down the path from the building.
Ore was crushed in the middle with a
post-and-stone setup powered by donkey
or mule walking endlessly in a circle. Slow
and tedious to be sure—it took four hours
to crush a decent pile of ore—but there
were a hundred such arrarastres in operation
during the heyday.
Ross’ Grave is unique in that no one
really knows why somebody bothered to
bury him in the first place, given the frantic
mining town pace. Apparently he was
accidentally killed cutting down a tree and
a picket fence was built around the grave.
Vandals and souvenir seekers have done a
number on the site.
Pygmy Cabin Site aroused curiousity
for years with its 6 ft. ceiling and 4 ft. door.
The point is moot now because fire and
scavengers have reduced the remains down
so he well understood the importance of
identifying and separating claims. It was
he who oversaw the establishing of claims
in the area based on a boundary rock that
had a unique “split” that made it easy to
pinpoint. When he died he wanted to be
buried next to his favorite pond, certainly
a scenic spot to spend eternity.
Wilbur’s pond in particular is especially
enticing, a seasonal body of water
that after two consecutive good winters is
looking healthy as summer arrives. Some
years it’s little more than marshland but
to original stone chimney and cabin footprint.
Still worth seeing, and the 900-foot
trail to the site is stunning.
Metzger Mine is an underground
horizontal passage dug out by miners still
visible today. Duck under the quartz ledge
and enter the mine remnants, provided you
bring light because it is pitch dark inside.
It goes a short distance into the mountain
following a vein that the miners worked
and is not recommended for the claustrophobic
or ill-prepared.
Gold Mountain “Lucky Baldwin”
Mine is last stop on Gold Fever Tour. The
remnants were saved during the 2017
Holcomb Fire, about the only good fortune
it’s seen in the last century, so the massive
wood beams marking the spot of a huge
40-stamp mill operation remain. The lack
of surrounding timber is because most of
the trees in the area were cut to power the
steam engine in the stamp mill, which
burned some 11,000 lbs. of dry pine daily.
with all the water
it now looks
more like a little
lake than a
pond.
Located in
a quiet meadow
off dirt road
3N07, which
branches off
3N16, the main
Gold Fever
Trail, the
manmade pond
is serene and
quiet, surrounded by towering pines, with
sign directing visitors to the location. A
small stone dam marks the area.
On the other side of the dirt road is
Wilbur’s Grave. A large mound covered
by pine cones and branches marks the final
resting place for this historic Holcomb
Valley figure, along with American flag
and debris people have piled on.